HOW TO KNOW GOD

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“If you really know Me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.”

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

Jesus answered: “Don’t you know Me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time?”

“Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in Me? The words I say to you I do not speak on My own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in Me, who is doing His work. Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.”

John 14:7-11

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In Jesus time, the Jewish religious authorities were highly respected in the community. They were looked up to spiritually and occupied important positions in the synagogue and the Sanhedrin. You would have thought they would have been the most godly men in Israel but anyone who reads the Bible would have to wonder if these men really had a solid relationship with the God they preached about.

But could this really happen? Could it be possible for people to talk a good God game but actually be far from Him?

I think those questions were answered by the very actions of these men, whether the Pharisees or the Sadducees, the teachers of the law or the scribes. After all, didn’t these men let their love of power and personal pride blind them to the truth that God had sent the very Messiah before their eyes and yet they refused to believe it. The Jewish religious authorities not only rejected the Savior God had sent to save them but in doing so they rejected God Himself. We know so because of what Jesus said in the tenth chapter of John. Look at His words here:

“The works I do in my Father’s name testify about Me, but you do not believe because you are not My sheep. My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” John 10:25-30

Jesus didn’t operate in secret. Rather, everything He did was in plain sight.

Every miraculous healing.

Every driving out of demons.

Every resurrection of the dead.

His work was done in such a way that people would know that He was no ordinary Jewish man. His works, works done in the name of God, testified to the power He possessed, a power instilled in Him by none other than God Himself. Many believed in Jesus and found their salvation. They became the sheep of the Good Shepherd, the way Jesus described Himself in the opening verses of John 10. And they listened to their Shepherd as they walked the narrow road to eternal life, sheep given to the Good Shepherd by the Father, sheep so secure when in the company of the Father and the Son that no one could snatch them away. No one.

Ultimately, Jesus was one with God the Father, His Father. He proclaimed it Himself but the Jewish religious leaders refused to believe and in doing so, opted to live outside of His flock and outside of salvation as a result. They didn’t know God because they refused to relate to and know God’s Son.

Now fast forward from John 10 to our verses for today as Jesus continues to teach His disciples while on the brink of His death. He had just told His followers that He was the Way and Truth and Life, the only way one could come to God. Now He wanted to make sure that His disciples knew their Maker and Creator as well as they knew Him. And as we see, it was all relevant, right?

For Jesus goes back to the truth He spoke in John 10 and builds on it. Yes, He and the Father were one and therefore, if any disciple knew Jesus then they also knew God as well. It couldn’t be called a two-for-one deal because it really was a 1-for-1 in reality. In other words, Jesus was telling His listeners that He and God were interchangeable parts.

It seemed clear enough but as we see, at least one disciple was completely confused. For we find Philip asking Jesus to show God to them, adding that it would satisfy them if He did.

The tone of Jesus’ words signal He was slightly annoyed at Philip’s request. For He replied:

“Don’t you know Me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time?”

It was like Jesus was asking Philip, “What part of I and the Father are one are you having trouble understanding?”

And so Jesus feels it important to repeat Himself to reinforce and drive home the important point He was trying to convey.

All the disciples had been with Jesus for three years. They were in company with Him every day and so that means they saw Him all the time. And in seeing Him all the time, they were also seeing God who was not only with His Son but in Him.

Therefore, it was beyond foolhardy to ask Jesus to show God to anyone. Simply by being with them, Jesus was showing them God. He and the Father were one in the same and all someone had to do was just believe Jesus at face value or at least believe because of the evidence presented by Jesus’ works.

So this brings us to our devotion’s title: “How To Know God.”

Through the words of Jesus Himself, we now understand what is required. All we need to do in order to know God is to know His Son Jesus, and we get to know His Son Jesus by studying His life, His words, and His ministry, over and over and over again. The better we get to know our Savior, the Good Shepherd of the flock all Christians belong to, the better we get to know the Father who sent Him, the Father who loved us so much that He didn’t wish for us to perish but to gain eternal life.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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